Stop Getting Bad AI Art: This Guide Will Change Everything

Understanding the Fundamentals: It Starts With the Prompt

The single most important factor in generating good AI art is the quality of your prompt. Think of your prompt as instructions for the AI. The more detailed and specific you are, the better the result. Here’s how to craft winning prompts:

• Be Specific: Don’t just say “a cat.” Say “a fluffy calico cat sitting on a windowsill, bathed in golden sunlight.”
• Use Descriptive Adjectives: Instead of “a tree,” try “a gnarled, ancient oak tree with twisting branches.”
• Define the Style: Want a photorealistic image? Say “photorealistic.” Prefer impressionism? Specify “impressionistic style.” Consider using terms like “art nouveau,” “cyberpunk,” “watercolor,” etc.
• Add Keywords: Keywords can help the AI focus on specific elements. Experiment with terms related to lighting (“soft lighting,” “dramatic lighting”), composition (“wide shot,” “close-up”), and artistic movements (“surrealism,” “cubism”).
• Consider the Medium: Specify the type of artwork you want: “oil painting,” “digital illustration,” “photograph,” etc.

Example of a poorly prompted AI image. Notice the lack of detail and strange artifacts.

A significantly improved result thanks to a detailed and well-crafted prompt.

Choosing the Right AI Art Generator

Not all AI art generators are created equal. Different platforms excel at different things. Here are a few popular options and their strengths:

• Midjourney: Known for its artistic and painterly style. Excellent for creating beautiful, dreamlike imagery.
• DALL-E 2: Powerful and versatile, capable of generating a wide range of styles. Strong at creating photorealistic images.
• Stable Diffusion: Open-source and highly customizable, offering a great deal of control over the generation process.
• NightCafe Creator: Offers a variety of algorithms and styles, and is known for its user-friendly interface.

Experiment with different platforms to find the one that best suits your artistic vision and preferred style.

Refining Your Results: Iteration and Upscaling

Even with a perfect prompt, you may need to iterate on your results. Most AI art generators allow you to generate variations of an existing image.

• Generate Variations: Use the “variation” or “re-roll” feature to create slightly different versions of your initial image.
• Tweak Your Prompt: Analyze the generated image and adjust your prompt accordingly. Add more details, refine your style, or experiment with different keywords.
• Upscale Your Images: Many AI art generators offer upscaling features that can increase the resolution and sharpness of your images. If not, dedicated upscaling tools (like GFPGAN or Upscale Media) can dramatically improve the quality of your final artwork.

Beyond the Basics: Advanced Techniques

Once you’ve mastered the fundamentals, you can explore more advanced techniques:

• Image-to-Image: Use an existing image as a starting point for your AI art. This allows you to transform photographs into paintings, or create variations of existing artwork.
• Inpainting: Select specific areas of an image to regenerate or edit. This is useful for fixing imperfections or adding new elements to your artwork.
• Combining Tools: Use AI art generators in conjunction with traditional image editing software like Photoshop or GIMP to further refine and enhance your creations.

Conclusion

Generating compelling AI art is a skill that requires practice and experimentation. By understanding the fundamentals of prompting, choosing the right tools, and iterating on your results, you can transform your AI art from bad to breathtaking. So, get out there, experiment, and start creating!